Two hundred thirty-four years ago, at the dawn of our great nation, the Founding Fathers set a course destined to uniquely and permanently alter human history.

As we celebrate our nation’s independence with friends and family, we reflect on the timeless principles upon which our predecessors had the foresight to base our system of government.  It is by their words and deeds that we have the opportunity to flourish in this land of the free and home of the brave. The ideals for which they struggled cast the mold for a nation where opportunity could blossom and to which the weary eyes of the world would look for hope and inspiration as tribute to the enduring power of liberty.

On July 4, 1776, these courageous men etched in parchment the unalienable rights bestowed by our Creator; and ever since that day countless men and women from sea to shining sea have defended freedom and promoted liberty across the globe.  Today, we honor their sacrifices with gratitude, offering our steadfast resolve to face the challenges that lay before us.

For many in Louisiana, these trials do not lie dormant in the haze of an unknown future, but in the excruciating immediacy of the present.  We have now entered the 74th day of the gulf oil spill, a disaster of epic environmental and economic impact to the Louisiana way of life that has long endured for generations.  Just as we remember the patriots and statesman who struggled for the nation we are so fortunate to have inherited, so too must we consider those who struggle today to prevent their livelihoods from drowning in the mire of either oil– or bureaucratic incompetence.

We at the Republican Party of Louisiana wish you a happy and safe Fourth of July.  Enjoy the fireworks and cherish the fellowship with your family and friends, and observe not only the challenges overcome, but the challenges which threaten to overcome us.

Sincerely,

Roger Villere, Chairman

Villere Calls Out Obama, D.C. Democrats on Obstructing Oil Spill Visit

Villere says Democrats from Obama to Pelosi have done everything in their power to impede Louisiana’s recovery

Baton Rouge – Republican Party of Louisiana Chairman Roger Villere expressed his outrage today that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is blocking members of Congress from visiting the devastation of the Louisiana coastline.  Villere also offered Congressman Steve Scalise the full support of the Party in making sure members of Congress are able to visit the oil spill disaster area.

“President Obama has stumbled and stalled his way through this oil spill cleanup effort and now Nancy Pelosi is standing in the way of members of Congress who want to see the devastation firsthand,” stated Villere.  “It’s no surprise that some are starting to wonder why so many D.C. Democrats, from the President to Pelosi, seem content to leave the future of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast in such peril,” added Villere.

This most recent obstruction by Pelosi comes on the heels of information that after more than 70 days of oil gushing from the mangled Deepwater Horizon, President Obama has finally decided to allow American allies to assist in the cleanup process.

“Unless there is some extraordinary reason to prohibit this trip – which has yet to be communicated to us – this is an unacceptable departure from past practices,” said Representative Dan Lungren of California, the top Republican on the administration committee.

As to why Democrats were blocking Congressmen from seeing the coast, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill, referred to “energy policies that have done nothing to secure our energy future”.

“These statements by Nancy Pelosi’s office shed even further light as to the real reason Democrats are blocking our recovery and cleanup efforts.  It’s time for Democrats to put aside partisan politics and catering to the liberal left and focus on getting the job done on cleaning up this mess that they’re helping to create,” concluded Villere.

In his ruling, Judge Feldman found that moratorium was arbitrarily imposed saying “an invalid agency decision to suspend drilling of wells in depths of over 500 feet simply cannot justify the immeasurable effect on the plaintiffs, the local economy, the Gulf region, and the critical present-day aspect of the availability of domestic energy in this country.”

“Today’s ruling brings a sense of relief to thousands of Louisianians whose livelihoods are either directly or indirectly impacted by Obama’s drilling moratorium,” said Republican Party of Louisiana Chairman Roger Villere.  “Unfortunately, the decision seems to have already fallen on deaf ears at the White House.  The Obama Administration’s pledge to appeal today’s decision simply reinforces the hypocrisy behind Obama’s pledge to ‘spare no effort’ in responding to this spill.  Whether it’s the moratorium or job killing Cap & Tax legislation, Obama seems content on turning an environmental disaster into an economic nightmare.”

In Case You Missed…

Administration to appeal strikedown of offshore drilling ban

The Hill
By Michael O’Brien
June 22, 2010

“…White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the administration would appeal a decision by a district court judge granting an injunction against President Barack Obama’s temporary ban on deepwater offshore drilling…

‘Continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense,’ Gibbs added.

The administration’s decision to ban drilling was likely ‘arbitrary and capricious’ and would do ‘irreparable harm’ to companies and individuals’ livelihoods, federal Judge Martin Feldman wrote in his decision. Feldman granted a preliminary injunction against the moratorium’s effects.”

Click Here For The Full Story In The Hill

“The oil spill that continues to devastate our state’s coastal wetlands is an ongoing disaster that threatens both our culture and our livelihoods.  In addition to the immediate and long term devastation caused directly by the spill, Obama doubled down on tragedy last month with a drilling moratorium that will cost Louisianians jobs and push our domestic production overseas.  Never one to ‘let a good crisis go to waste,’ tonight Obama added insult to injury with his push for a liberal ‘cap and trade’ national energy tax that will further cripple our state’s economy.

When Obama announced last week that he was looking for an ass to kick – we all thought he meant BP or the federal bureaucrats whose ineptitude and delays have hindered our state’s response.  Tonight Obama made clear that Louisiana families and businesses will be on the receiving end of his ass kicking.”

While Gov. Jindal, Sen. Vitter and our coastal parish officials all strongly oppose Obama’s indefinite job-killing off shore moratorium, Rep. Charlie Melancon continues to downplay the impacts and shift the blame.

Repeatedly, Melancon has cast dispersion on oil companies saying that “just because they want to shut [them] down for a short period of time, [they] take [their] toys and [they’re] going somewhere else.”

But as Sen. David Vitter has said, the “rigs won’t wait idly for six months, [the oil companies will] move them overseas to places like West Africa or Brazil and take jobs with them.”  And he’s right, just today Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has announced it’s moving three rigs from the gulf to meet its annual production goals.

For the long term economic health of South Louisiana we simply cannot allow this drilling moratorium to cripple the oil industry and all of the supporting industries throughout our state.

And if chastising the oil industry for their reaction to Obama’s ill-conceived moratorium wasn’t enough, Melancon made one thing explicitly clear on WWL saying “fingers should not be pointed at the president or the federal government.”

Really?  Whose federal agencies approved drilling of the well?  Who failed for weeks to approve plans developed by Gov. Jindal and local officials?  Who is still failing to deliver the resources requested even after they’ve been approved?  And whose decision was it to enact the moratorium?

We all know the answers to these questions and so the American people.  A survey released just this week found that 69% of the American people had an unfavorable opinion of the federal government’s response to the spill.  That’s even worse than the 62% who disapproved of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.

Weeks ago Charlie Melancon was accused of calling the oil spill overplayed and now he’s downplaying the moratoriums impact and shifting responsibility.

Louisiana knows the importance of our wetlands and the oil industry to our state and Melancon’s relentless defense of Obama’s failed policies and drilling moratorium demonstrate his clear commitment to liberal leaders in Washington over the people of Louisiana.

Sincerely,

Roger Villere, Chairman
Republican Party of Louisiana

“Last night was a sad one for the thousands of Louisianians who have called their members of Congress, attended town hall meetings, and written letters to the editor to oppose Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi’s massive government takeover of health care.  The bill increases taxes, raises premiums, guts Medicare and will not control the rising costs of health care.  Sadder still is the Democrat leadership’s choice to avoid bipartisanship and ram through legislation that will put government bureaucrats in charge of decisions best made by patients and their doctors and will allow for taxpayer funded abortions.  The vote last night clearly demonstrates that Democrats in Washington, D.C. have lost touch with the voters they were elected to represent.”

“Today’s White House Health Care Summit was nothing more than PR stunt by Barack Obama and Washington Democrats hoping to feign bipartisanship in the hopes of resurrecting a reckless health care experiment that the American people soundly reject.  Rather than a real attempt to find common sense solutions to our nation’s health care system, today’s summit focused on defense of unpopular Democrat proposals and providing cover for Democrats to ram through government-run health care via a parliamentary trick called reconciliation.

I was hopeful when President Obama called this summit that he would hear Republican ideas for incremental reforms to make health care more affordable, more accessible, and put an end to junk lawsuits.  Unfortunately, while Obama may have heard our ideas, itwas quite clear that those ideas were falling on deaf ears and the Democrats will not scrap their proposals and start over as the American people want.”

Background

The American People Reject The President’s Health Care Plan

Quinnipiac: “American Voters Still Disapprove 54 – 35 Percent Of Obama’s Health Care Reform Plan, but they say 52 – 44 percent they want Congress and the President to keep trying on health care reform rather than giving up and moving on to other matters.” (“U.S. Voters Split On Obama, Down On Everyone Else, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds,” Quinnipiac, 2/11/10, link)

Rasmussen: “Forty-One Percent (41%) Of Voters Favor The Proposed Health Care Plan, While 56% Oppose It.” (“51% Fear Government More Than Private Health Insurers,” Rasmussen, 2/24/10, link)

PEW: “More Americans Continue To Generally Oppose (50%) Than Generally Favor (38%) The Health Care Bills Being Discussed In Congress.” (“Obama’s Ratings Are Flat, Wall Street’s Are Abysmal,” Pew, 2/12/10, link)

“Today is the one year anniversary of the Obama-Melancon team’s failed ‘stimulus” program.  Melancon and Obama promised their binge spending was necessary to create a jobs and that the money would not be wasted.  Melancon called it ‘the right thing to do’ and the he supported the bill so as to not ‘embarrass the president.’  Yet, one year later it is Barack Obama and Charlie Melancon who should be embarrassed by a ‘stimulus’ plan that failed to keep national unemployment out of double digits, wasted billions of dollars, and passed trillions of dollars in debt on to future generations.”

Background:

Melancon Voted In Favor Of The $825 Billion House-Passed “Stimulus” Bill. (H.R. 1, CQ Vote # 46: Adopted 244-188: R 0-177; D 224-11, 1/28/09, Melancon Voted Yea)

Melancon: “This Bill Is The Right Thing To Do For America’s Future, And I Am Proud To Support It.” (Congressman Charlie Melancon, Press Release, “Rep. Melancon Supports Economic Recovery Plan To Create And Save 50,000 Jobs In Louisiana,” 2/13/09)

Melancon Voted For The Stimulus To Not Embarrass Obama.“The Blue Dogs backed down from a confrontation last week, with an overwhelming majority of their members holding their noses to vote with Pelosi and the White House. ‘We didn’t want to embarrass the president,’ Melancon said.” (Glenn Thrush and Patrick O’Connor, “The Blue Dogs bark,” Politico, 2/5/09)

For a detailed analysis of the “stimulus” plans failures, please see the report issued today by House Republican Leader John Boehner titled “Where are the Jobs?: A Look Back at One Year of So-Called ‘Stimulus’” link

“Representative Charlie Melancon’s support of Barack Obama’s reckless spending is already costing him dearly in the polls, where he finds himself a staggering 24 points behind just 9 months out from Election Day, and yet not a day goes by without Melancon trying to disguise his record with his rhetoric.  Unfortunately for Melancon, voters in Louisiana aren’t falling for his deceptions.  Melancon supported Obama’s failed stimulus plan, Obama’s deficit driving budget, Obama’s earmark littered omnibus appropriations bill, and bailouts for Wall Street and the auto-industry – a record of fiscal conservatism this certainly is not.”

Melancon 24 Points Behind In Race For U.S. Senate:

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state shows Vitter leading Democratic Congressman Charlie Melancon 57% to 33%. (“Election 2010: Louisiana Senate,” Rasmussen Reports, 2/12/10)

Charlie Melancon’s Latest Rhetoric On Fiscal Responsibility:

Melancon: “‘Now we need to start looking at where can we legitimately make cuts, reduce spending, and get things moving in the right direction,’…” (Sean Miller, “Melancon backs deeper spending cuts,” The Hill, 1/11/10)

But Melancon Voted For The Failed “Stimulus” Bill:

Melancon Voted In Favor Of The $825 Billion House-Passed “Stimulus” Bill. (H.R. 1, CQ Vote # 46: Adopted 244-188: R 0-177; D 224-11, 1/28/09, Melancon Voted Yea)

Melancon Was The Only La. Congressman Voting In Favor Of Aid Package. (Keith Magill, “Melancon Only La. Congressman Voting In Favor Of Aid Package,” Thibodoux Daily Comet, 1/28/09)

Melancon: “This Bill Is The Right Thing To Do For America’s Future, And I Am Proud To Support It.” (Congressman Charlie Melancon, Press Release, “Rep. Melancon Supports Economic Recovery Plan To Create And Save 50,000 Jobs In Louisiana,” 2/13/09)

And Melancon Voted For Obama’s Budget:

Melancon Voted In Favor Of Obama’s Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Resolution. (S. Con. Res. 13, CQ Vote #216: Adopted 233-193: R 0-176; D 233-17, 4/29/09, Melancon Voted Yea; H. Con. Res. 85, CQ Vote #192: Adopted 233-196: R 0-176; D 233-20, 4/2/09, Melancon Voted Yea)

The Budget Increases The Deficit To Levels Not Seen Since 1942. “His budget plan projects a federal deficit of $1.75 trillion for 2009, or 12.3% of the gross domestic product, a level not seen since 1942 as the U.S. plunged into World War II.” (Jonathan Weisman, “Obama Budget Pushes Sweeping Change,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/27/09)

Obama’s Budget “Would Force The Nation To Borrow Nearly $9.3 Trillion Over The Next 10 Years to fund the president’s priorities in health care, education and other areas, according to an analysis released Friday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.” (Lori Montgomery, “Obama To Pursue Budget Goals On Hill,” The Washington Post, 3/24/09)

The Wall Street Journal: “One Unstated But Clearly Implicit Goal Of [Obama’s] Budget Is To Put In Place Spending Programs That Make Ever-More Americans Dependent On Government And That Will Require A Permanently Higher Level Of Taxation To Finance.” (Editorial, “Obama Sticker Shock,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/23/09)

And Melancon Supported Obama’s Omnibus Appropriations Bill:

Melancon Voted In Favor Of The $410 Billion FY09 Omnibus Appropriation Bill. “Passage of the bill that would provide $410 billion in discretionary spending in fiscal 2009 for federal departments and agencies covered by nine unfinished fiscal 2009 spending bills. The measure incorporates the following previously separate appropriations bills from the 110th Congress: Agriculture; Commerce-Justice-Science; Energy-Water; Financial Services; Interior-Environment; Labor-HHS-Education; Legislative Branch; State-Foreign Operations; and Transportation-HUD. It would also provide $100 million for the U.S. Secret Service and block the automatic cost-of-living adjustment for members of Congress in 2010.” (H.R. 1105, CQ Vote #86: Passed 245-178: R 16-158; D 229-20, 4/25/09, Melancon Voted Yea)

“The Bill Includes An 8.5 Percent Across-The-Board Increase Over Last Year And Billions Of Dollars Worth Of Pet Projects.” (Trish Turner, “Senate Poised to Pass $410 Billion Spending Bill Tuesday,” Fox News, 3/9/09)

Taxpayers For Common Sense Identified More Than 8,500 Earmarks In The Omnibus Worth $7.7 Billion. “Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) has been going through the omnibus to pull together a total number of earmarks and dollar amount. TCS found 8,570 disclosed earmarks worth $7.7 billion. When you add the $6.6 billion in disclosed earmarks that were in the three FY09 spending bills that passed in the fall (Defense, DHS, MilCon/VA) you end up with $14.3 billion worth of disclosed earmarks in FY09.” (Taxpayers For Common Sense Website, www.taxpayer.net, Accessed 3/9/09)

And Melancon Also Supported The Massive Wall Street Bailout Packages:

Melancon Voted Twice For Appropriating Funds For The Troubled Assets Relief Program. (H.R. 3997, CQ Vote #674: Rejected 205-228: R 65-133; D 140-95, 9/29/08, Melancon Voted Yea;  H.R. 1424, CQ Vote #681: Agreed To 263-171: R 91-108; D 172-63, 10/3/08, Melancon Voted Yea)

As Of November 2009, Melancon Has Received $515,821 From Financial, Insurance, And Real Estate Sectors. (Center For Responsive Politics, www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 11/9/09)

And Melancon Was Also Supportive Of The Auto Company Bailouts:

In December 2008, Melancon Voted For A $14 Billion Bailout Of The Auto Industry. (H.R. 7321, CQ Vote #690: Passed 237-170: R 32-150; D 205-20, 12/10/08, Melancon Voted Yea)

And That’s Why Melancon Has Been Criticized For His Votes In Support Of Obama’s Spending Spree:

Melancon Was “Ambushed By Constituents” Over His Votes For The Stimulus, Bailout Legislation, And The Obama Budget. “A newspaper headline called it ‘The Beat Down at the Sliman.’ U.S. Rep. Charles ‘Charlie’ Melancon was essentially ambushed by constituents at the historic theater in New Iberia in a meeting he held during the recent Easter recess. The Napoleonville Democrat faced a hostile crowd armed with questions, some of which were prepared on slips of paper, tucked into their pockets like six guns.” (Gerard Shields, “Melancon Survived ‘Ambush,’” The Baton Rouge Advocate, 4/26/09)

“Conservative Voters In Melancon’s District Blasted Him For Voting With His Party On The Recent Stimulus Bill, Bailout Legislation And President Barack Obama’s Budget, According The Daily Iberian Newspaper.” (Gerard Shields, “Melancon Survived ‘Ambush,’” The Baton Rouge Advocate, 4/26/09)

Representative Charlie Melancon is doing everything he can to latch on to the outpouring of support and attention that Sen. David Vitter is receiving for his fight with the NFL over who owns the rights to the term “Who Dat.”

“In the Melancon campaign’s first attempt at a rally, all you could hear were crickets chirping,” said Republican Party of Louisiana Chairman Roger F. Villere, Jr..  “Of course this rally had nothing to do with his votes for Obama’s stimulus plan, Obama’s budget, or to keep the public option in the House’s health care bill.  Instead, Melancon attempted to draw a crowd of Saints fans to oppose the NFL’s crack down on ‘Who Dat Nation.’  While that’s certainly a noble cause, what does it say about Melancon’s anemic campaign that nobody showed up?”

Just like in football, let’s take a quick look at the instant replay.  Check out our exclusive video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpukxfg-Y6A